Ensuring the health and safety for passengers is such a central part of a flight attendant’s job. But who looks out for our health and safety at work?
The reality is that employer non-compliance with basic occupational health and safety obligations is pretty common through the airline sector – unless there’s a union pushing back to ensure employees’ health and safety is being protected.
CUPE has represented flight attendants in Canada since 1984. As Canada’s flight attendant union, CUPE has been a leading voice for the health and safety of airline workers for nearly four decades, on issues ranging from pandemic PPE to cosmic radiation monitoring, to cabin air quality, layover safety, and passenger-to-flight attendant ratios.
CUPE has a dedicated senior health and safety officer for the airline sector, who works with flight attendants across Canada to provide guidance to employers and inspectors, advocate for union members, and deliver top-of-the-line health and safety training. CUPE’s National Healthy and Safety Committee provides networking and information-sharing opportunities for workers across the country.
Consider your own experience:
- Have you been taught about your four health and safety rights at work?
- Does your employer respond quickly when you file a health and safety complaint?
- Do you have a health and safety committee at each base?
- Does your health and safety committee participate in investigations?
- Does your health and safety committee inspect your workplace, including the planes you fly on?
If you answered “no” or “I don’t know” to any of these questions, then your workplace suffers from a weak health and safety culture.
But a union can help change that culture, and ensure we make it home safe at the end of the day, and healthy at the end of our careers.
Sign your union card today to take the next step towards a safer, healthier workplace for Porter cabin crew!